


Stockholm

by sammysouffle



Category: Hollyoaks
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Gen, Threats of Violence, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:36:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27444247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sammysouffle/pseuds/sammysouffle
Summary: James gets kidnapped by George Kiss
Relationships: George Kiss & James Nightingale
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

The intense throb in the back of his head is the first thing James notices when he comes to. The musty smell in the air makes bile rise through his stomach. He attempts to stand up, but the throbbing and vertigo make him fall back on the ground. As his blurry vision clears, a familiar face comes into view making James scramble back. 

“George,” he whispers. 

“Hello, James.” 

***

Something was not right about the local beloved police officer, PC Kiss. James spent a good chunk of his time trying to find dirt on the man. The PC’s social media activity was scarce. He had a few pictures of him and John Paul which James grudgingly skipped, inspirational quotes which made his eyes roll to the back of his head, and of course, videos of him at the gym. Posting often was not the man’s style, it seemed. James also found the academy from where PC Kiss had graduated and his graduating class. James called the academy to find any scintillating details of brawls, bullying, or just all-around violence that the PC seemed so fond of, but his training officer seemed to have nothing but good things to say about the man. Frustrating as it was, James refused to give up. He kept going through the rabbit hole that was the life of PC Kiss and even found out about his family. They were obnoxiously normal. One fun tidbit James discovered was that PC Kiss had an identical twin brother. A Procurator Fiscal with the Edinburgh High Court, the twin, it seemed, was far more successful than the PC. That has got to sting the PC’s overbearing pride. James tried not to linger on the photograph of the man who, despite being a twin, looked far better than the PC. Or maybe it had something to do with the suit. Alas, the twin was engaged, and James is not sure why that stung a little. Digging into the life of PC Kiss’ twin was not the goal, James remembered before he got back to the task at hand. As James dug deeper, he came across a small article in a local newspaper. A brawl that had taken place in London one year prior which involved the PC. Not that it surprised James in any shape or form, but a name in the article caught James’ attention. Dean Baker. 

***

Finding Dean Baker was not as tricky as James imagined it would be. James reached out to him via Facebook, pretending to be PC Kiss’ attorney, making some excuse about how he was representing him in an excessive force case and came across the article published in the newspaper. Mr. Baker seemed reluctant, but James assured him it would only help George. 

Meeting Dean Baker at The Loft seemed like the best option as it was crowded and PC Kiss spent most of his time at The Dog in the Pond, anyway. 

“Mr. Baker?” James called out from the bar when a man with curly hair walked into the club with a sheepish look on his face. His stance relaxed, just a little when he saw James and walked over to him. 

“Mr. Nightingale?” The man asked over the music. 

“James, please,” James offered him his best charming smile and stuck out his hand towards the other man. 

“And you may call me Dean.” 

“Dean, right,” James tested out the name. “Please, have a seat. What would you like to have?” 

Dean said something which James did not quite hear, so he leaned in, only to have Dean jump back like he had been electrocuted. 

“Oh my, I am so sorry,” James apologized quickly. 

“No, I- I AM sorry,” Dean replied and bit down on his bottom lip. “I don’t go out often, especially not to a club.” 

“Would you like to go elsewhere?” James asked. 

“No, that’s fine. I- I’d rather not run into George anywhere.” 

James cocked an eyebrow at the other man. Seeing the discomfort on his face, James asked once again, “What would you like to have?” 

“I don’t drink. I used to-,” he added quickly, just as James was else he would like to have then. “-I had a drinking problem but things changed after I met George.” 

“Oh?” James asked before hailing the bartender and asking for a seltzer for the other man instead. 

Dean took a nervous sip from his drink before placing it back on the bar. “It was love at first sight on my end. Hard not to fall in love with someone so charming.” 

James very much believed otherwise, but he let Dean continue. 

“He disapproved of my drinking and helped me become sober. Even got me to Alcoholics Anonymous every Thursday,” the fond smile on Dean’s face made James wonder if he would get any dirt on the other man. 

“So what happened that night a year ago when he got into a fight,” James asked. 

Dean took a large gulp of the seltzer this time, making himself cough. When he stopped he continued, “George he has- you said you were his lawyer, right? Does that mean you have to relay everything back to him? Wait… does he know you are meeting me?” Dean looked around nervously like George would jump out of somewhere.

“No, on the phone, I told you… this is just for me. I need to know about the skeletons in his closet. I do not need any surprises in court,” James offers him another of his charming, reassuring smiles which seemed to work when Dean smiled back. 

He cleared his throat and shyly looked away before continuing. “George is… he’s different. He has these… standards, and he needs his boyfriends to live up to those standards. He also lavishes his boyfriends with all the attention in the world which some might find smothering, but it’s for your best.” 

James blinked at the other man. That sounded... odd. He has done the same in the past, but he changed. Harry changed him. 

“He gets jealous easily… which I suppose isn’t that bad. It just means he loves you so much, he doesn’t want anyone else touching you or looking at you.” 

James has been there too. He gets jealous easily. He realizes that it is his own insecurities and his abandonment issues. So far, nothing about the PC seemed damning. If anything -and James hated to admit it- the PC was quite similar to James himself. 

“That did not quite answer my question,” James intoned, to not offend the other man.

“Oh sorry, I get lost every time I talk about George.” The red tint on Dean’s cheeks at the mention of his former boyfriend almost made James roll his eyes. “That night he was just angry when another man made a move on me. So he broke his arm.” 

James’ eyes widened, and he looked down at his own arm on the bar before pulling it away as if the PC was about to walk in here and break it. “Shit,” James whispered. “That violent man.” 

“NO!” James almost jumped back at Dean’s sudden outburst. “He isn’t violent. He’s just protective. George said something to do the so man didn’t press any charges against him. So this shouldn’t affect your current case.” 

“Right,” James mumbled. 

An uncomfortable silence settled between them before Dean broke it. “It was my fault.” 

“What?” 

“The man hitting on me and George getting in trouble. It was all my fault. If I had not been shaking my arse at the club that night… then none of it would have happened,” Dean says in a pitiful voice that almost- almost makes James feel sorry for him. 

“Is that what he told you? George, I mean.” 

“He wasn’t wrong.” 

There it was. The bullseye James had been looking to strike. The gaslighting, possessiveness, jealousy, victim-blaming were all signs of an emotionally abusive relationship.

***

James remembered leaving The Loft with Dean. Like a true gentleman, he walked the other man to his car and when asked, assured him he would let nothing happen to George. Though the opposite was true. 

James doesn’t remember getting home. He doesn’t even remember getting out of the car park. Because before he could, something heavy struck on the back of his head, making everything go dark.

***

“Where am I?” James asks, looking around at the old shed where he was being held, prisoner. 

“Stockholm,” George chuckles and sits back on the floor. “Well, at least that’s where your mother thinks you are.” 

“Excuse me?” James can feel his heart rate rising. That’s when he noticed the knife in one of George’s hands. Attempting to get up once again, James falls back to the floor and realizes George has bound his ankles with zip ties along with his hands. 

“I’ll open them for you if you promise not to run away.” George twirls the knife while looking directly at James. 

“Okay, I promise.” This man is exceedingly smart or stupid for having believed James. He votes for the latter. 

George brings the knife to zip ties around James’ ankles and slowly cut through it, making James hold his breath all the while, hoping he doesn’t cut his tendons. James gasps when the zip ties snap open. 

He does the same to the zip ties around James’ wrists and his closeness, along with the entire bottle of cologne he had sprayed himself with, almost makes James vomit. Thankful the zip ties came off without the veins on James’ wrists being cut, James finally releases a breath. This was his chance, he decided. Shoving George back with a powerful push, he gets off the floor and runs towards the door, only to have his foot caught in a tight grip and pulled with a force that forced him to fall face flat on the floor with an oof. 

He’s turned around and he feels the heavyweight of George on top of him and tries pushing him away to no avail. James immediately stops moving and trying to get away when he feels the cold tip of the blade on his throat. 

“You broke your promise, James. I don’t like people who can’t keep their promises.” 

“You’ve kidnapped me! Of course, I would try to escape!” James regrets yelling at him when the blade presses even further against his throat, possibly cutting open the skin. He gasps in pain and holds his breath once again. “Please let me go.” James never begs, but he had to this time, especially when his life was at risk. 

The blade of George’s knife leaves his throat before George stands up.

“Get up!” George yells. “Why were you meeting with Dean? And DON’T lie to me!” 

James does not have to be told twice. He gets up from the floor and takes a step back. “I- I was digging up dirt… on you.” 

“And what did you find?” The increasing angry tone of his voice makes James shudder. 

“That you are-” James wants to say an abusive prick, but he figures those would not be the best choice of words. “--what you did to him. That’s abuse.” 

“That’s not abuse. That’s love. I loved him more than anything, but he just couldn’t become the man I wanted him to be. He couldn’t live up to the standards of being my lover.” 

James knows better than to fight George on that, especially not when he still has the tactical knife in his hand. “Look, you want me to stay away from John Paul, don’t you? Fine, I will. I will never talk to him or even look his way. Please, just let me go.” 

“You already broke one promise, James. Do you think I will trust you again?” 

“Look, I am sorry, I should not have run.” James agrees. “But I promise you. I promise I will stay away from John Paul if you let me go. I’ll even go away to Stockholm.” Maybe making light of the situation is not the best way to go, but humour is all James has. 

“No,” George says without giving it a moment of thought. “I told you time and time again to stay away from John Paul to not undermine me in front of him, but you JUST. DON’T. LISTEN. That’s why you’re going to stay here.” 

“What?” 

“Yes, James Nightingale, welcome to your new home. I hope you enjoy it” With that George heads to the door and James follows him but before he can get out, George pushes him back inside. The clicking of the lock outside makes James’ heartbeat increase once again. 

No, no, no, no. He can not leave him in here to die. 

  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James makes another attempt at an escape

Dread settles inside James after George leaves. A sob he does not recognize as his own escapes from his lips. What was he to do? George had left him here to die. He did not even know where he even was. 

He looked around and realized that what he first thought was a shed turned about to be a tiny cabin complete with an even smaller kitchen, a mattress, and a door he assumed led to a bathroom. It seems George did not say this was his new home in jest. The man had made all prior arrangements, but even with said arrangements, James would not survive in this place if George never came back. 

The windows were all boarded up, leaving the front door as his only escape. James made another attempt to shake the door open to no avail. He even tried to knock it down with his body weight, only to hurt himself instead. But he did not give up. He tried again, and again, and again.

***

Out of breath and strength, James finally gave up. He lay down on the bed, curling himself up in a fetal position as the inevitability of his slow and painful death settled in the pit of his stomach. 

***

James startles to a state of awake when he feels a hand on his shoulder. As his vision clears, he sees a familiar face in front of him and sits up immediately. Looking around, it hits him exactly where he is. 

“I- I thought you were not coming back.” 

“I wasn’t,” George admits. “But my conscience wouldn’t allow me to let you die here. Here…” he tosses a bag towards James. James catches it and reads the label on the bag which was a big red “M.” The smell of oil and what he supposes is meat hits his nostrils when he opens the brown bag. “You expect me to eat this?” 

“Eat this or go hungry. It’s up to you,” George threatens. 

As if on cue, James’ stomach growled. Though it soon twisted into knots when he took out the greasy paper-wrapped abomination from the bag and unwrapped it. It looked as unsavoury as it smelled. 

“It won’t bite, princess,” George huffs and grabs the bag, taking out the rest of the “food” and setting them in front of James. “Now eat. As I said, I don’t want you to die—- Wait, you have never had McDonald’s, have you?” 

“No, I like to know where my food comes from,” James replies as he focuses on the unwrapped “food” in his hands. He takes a cautious bite as he wasn’t sure exactly what he would encounter. Besides, George could have poisoned it — His eyes widen as he swallows the bread, meat, and what he supposed was cheese. That was not as bad as he expected it to be. 

“You like it, don’t you?” George asks, amused. 

“No!” James lies and swallows a big bite of a burger this time. He did not quite realize just how famished he was. 

A laugh escapes George’s lips, and he picks up the chips and offers them to him. “Try these.” 

They are thinner than the ones James has had with Juliet a few times. He is not the biggest fan of potatoes but takes one and cautiously bites into it. That does not quite settle well with his taste buds. “That’s horrendous!” 

“Well, at least you enjoyed the burger.” 

“I didn’t” James protests once again. 

***

James did not expect George to be hospitable. He expected to be left in this cabin to die and rot with his family, never quite knowing what happened to him. Would they have even cared? He tried not to dwell on that question. 

“Next time I will bring you groceries and you can cook your own food,” George tells him as an uncomfortable silence falls between them. 

“Or you could just let me go,” James suggests instead. He had to give it another try. 

“I hope you know how to cook,” George ignores him and continues. How rude. 

“George, come on, this is insanity,” James continues to try his luck. “You cannot keep me here forever.” 

George’s expression suddenly changes. His eyes darken and he is on James in the blink of an eye. “What did I tell you?!” He yells. “You are NOT going anywhere until John Paul is mine and mine alone. Not until I erase every memory of you from his mind.” 

James struggles under George again. He tries to push him off but doesn’t even make him budge. “Get off me!” 

“What do you think I’m going to do to you, James?” George asks, baring his teeth at him. He takes both of James’ wrists and pins them to the bed. “Rape you?” 

James’ eyes widen and his heart beats faster. That thought had not even crossed his mind and now that it had---

“Get off me!” He struggles against George again. He looks around and tries to find something that would help him fight. He locates a broomstick nearby and tries to reach out to it, but George’s grip on his wrists are too tight. James closes his eyes when he feels George’s warm breath right next to his ear, “I don’t want you!” George practically laughs in his ear “You are pathetic and damaged and not even worth touching.” 

Shame and humiliation settle in the pit of James’ stomach at those words and sudden anger rises through him. George knows exactly how to press the right buttons and make James hurt in the right places. 

George lets him go and gets off him, and James uses the opportunity to pick up the broomstick and hit him hard right on the back of the head. 

George groans in pain but doesn’t go down as James expected him to. He turns around and glares at James while holding the back of his head. James swings the stick and hits him across the forehead this time and knocks him down. George falls with a loud thud, leaving James standing there staring at his bleeding forehead with his mouth wide open. 

James throws the stick aside and runs for the door which, as he expected, is open. Once outside, James looks around but finds nothing but darkness. It was night already and he could see nothing around him. It dawned on him that he did not know where he was. Going back to the cabin was not an option and he could not run into the dark, not without knowing where he was going. He looks around and finds a white sedan not far away from him. George’s car. But he did not have the keys. He could not risk going back into the cabin, especially not when he wasn’t sure if George was conscious or unconscious. He could even be dead, but James did not entertain that thought. 

But what other option did he have? He had to go back in there and get the car keys. 

Taking a deep breath, James headed back into the cabin and found George still laying on the floor. James wondered again if he was dead. When he got close enough, he got down beside him and reached out to wave a hand under his nose. He was still breathing. The bastard. James could take the stick and beat him to death while he was still unconscious, but he would rather get out of here instead. The man’s uniform had so many pockets, James did not understand where he was keeping the keys. “People keep it in their trousers pockets,” he whispers to himself and reaches towards him. He slowly reached into the trousers pocket. Just as he had expected the keys were in there. As he pulled them out, there was a firm grip around his wrist


End file.
